Search for Jimmy Hoffa ends, again

FILE PHOTO-7-31-75--Machus Red Fox in Bloomfield Township. Former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from the restaurant on July 30, 1975 , and has never been seen again.

The search for the remains of former Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa in Oakland Township is over.

The FBI announced around 11 a.m. Wednesday that they were discontinuing the excavation for Hoffa's body.

"After a diligent search pursuant to our responsibilities under the search warrant, we did not uncover any evidence relevant to the investigation of James Hoffa," said FBI Spec. Agent in charge Robert D. Foley III.

"We will now be closing down the excavation operation and returning the property to the property owner in the condition it was found."

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The investigation included two excavators, forensic anthropologists from Michigan State University, two Michigan State Police cadaver dogs and about 40 agents at any given time. After more than two days of searching, authorities called off the search of about an acre of land

The affidavit for the search warrant remains sealed and Foley said he could not disclose much more information.

The search came after reputed mobster Anthony Zerilli, 85, wrote a manuscript detailing how Hoffa was taken to the area in Oakland Township and buried alive. The manuscript said that after Hoffa's disappearance, three local mobsters drove him to what was then an old house and barn on the Buell Road property and enclosed him in a shallow grave at a barn.

Zerilli was also said to have been meeting with the FBI as an informant for at least seven months prior to the dig, which began Monday.

Foley would not comment on whether Zerilli took a polygraph to either confirm or deny the plausibility of the tip.

Contrary to speculation that the investigation cost millions, Foley said the cost did not come close to that figure.

Since Hoffa's disappearance in 1975, tipsters have called for searches of what's left of Hoffa's body in more than 15 locations, including under the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, south of the most recent excavation site.

On Tuesday, an inconclusive hit on animal bones by Michigan State Police cadaver dogs gave pause to officials and media -- local and national outlets -- and led investigators from one location to another that was also an area "consistent with the information we have," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. By Wednesday, investigations and coverage came to a halt when Foley announced the end of the most recent dig for the controversial labor icon's remains.

Foley said he was not disappointed in the conclusion, however, because the case remains open, and new leads could come forward at any time.

The sheriff also confirmed that concrete was located on-site. "We're working around that area," he added.

The concrete is relevant to the search based on "one of the most relevant and credible" tips that comes from "someone who would be in a position to have that information," Bouchard said.